Turn Time into Treasure

In Chapter 4 of his powerful book Torat HaBayit, (Torah in the Home), the  Chofetz  Chaim explains the enormity of the obligation to learn Torah whenever you have spare moments. He gives four major reasons why people slack off in this critical endeavor. I’ll summarize three of these in this article and the fourth in a separate piece.  

The first reason is “Mutar,” or permitted. People think that they’re doing nothing wrong by neglecting Torah in their spare moments. To dispel this false notion, the Chofetz Chaim points out that we say only one blessing in the morning before Torah study and this suffices  for the entire day. Usually, we are required to say a separate blessing over  each  performance of a mitzvah. However, the mitzvah of Torah study is continuous throughout the entire day. Even if one goes to work for eight hours and after coming home, resumes Torah study, there is no need to say an extra blessing. This is because every moment that we have free from work we are obligated.  

If you are idle and you fail to use your available time for the study of Torah you are guilty of the sin of bitul Torah or wasting time that should be allocated to Torah study. The  Chofetz  Chaim  explains that the punishment for this crime is severe. As I understand it, when we go to the next world, we will experience unspeakable embarrassment and regret over the precious lost time that we can never recoup. At the same time, the  Chofetz  Chaim brings down from our Sages that the reward for the study of Torah is immeasurable and is greater than any other mitzvah.  

The second reason people neglect Torah study is “Regiel” or habit. They feel they are stuck in a rut and it’s too hard to change. The Chofetz Chaim relates a proverb about a person who leases a vineyard for ten years requiring a very large investment. This fellow is quite lazy and for the first five years completely neglects the vineyard. As a result, the vineyard experiences massive deterioration. A relative visits this man and sees that he is visibly agitated.  He deduces that he’s worried about the condition of his vineyard. He tells the man: ‘What good is your worrying going to do? Get up from your chair and start maintaining it properly. Perhaps Hashem will help you and this will still yield a great profit.”  

So too it is with us. The vineyard of Hashem is the House of Israel. Hashem leases us a  specific amount of finite time to accumulate beneficial saplings that grow all the way to  Heaven.  Because of our negligence in attending to our primary duties, we waste time and grow spiritual thorns and thistles. We need to arise from our state of lethargy and  begin  immersing  ourselves in the words of Torah. Don’t be like the person who neglected his vineyard  and now forfeit the remaining years of your lease! 

The third reason that people slack off is “Hefker”. In other words, we see that many people are lax in this matter, so they are negatively influenced. The Chofetz Chaim writes another parable about someone walking with his friends and seeing glistening diamonds and pearls on the road. Would you be lazy and not take any because your friends are ignoring them? If this became known you’d be considered a fool! So too in our matter, every single Jew should know that the Torah of Hashem is more precious than diamonds and pearls. How could a person forego such a phenomenal gain just because of the conduct of his friends? 

Separately, I read that the Chofetz Chaim conducted an experiment with his stopwatch to see how many words on average a person speaks in one minute. He came up with a total of 200 words. He brought down from the Vilna Gaon that every word of Torah is a separate mitzvah.  This  means that in five minutes you can accumulate a thousand mitzvot!   

Let’s try to make this concept a vital and dynamic part of our lives. Here are a couple  ideas:  

Let’s say that you need to go to the supermarket to purchase some groceries. If it takes you 5 minutes to drive to the supermarket, you can either listen to news and sports talk or listen to a Torah lecture. In that 5-minute drive, you can accumulate 1,000 mitzvot if you make the right choice. When you are standing in line at the cashier, you can either look at the magazine rack to read gossip about movie stars or you can carry a little booklet of Torah thoughts and read that for 5 minutes. On the way home you can  resume  listening  to  a Torah lecture for five minutes. Over the course of 15 minutes, you will have accumulated 3,000 mitzvot! 

Pick a favorite book and whenever you have one or two minutes or five minutes, read a few paragraphs. Put a bookmark and paper clip where you left off and continue whenever you have a spare moment. You’ll be amazed how much progress you’ll make reading the book over time. It will give you a tremendous feeling of accomplishment and satisfaction. Moreover, the Torah you learn will bring you closer to Hashem and generate great merit. When you finish the book, plan a celebration, and invite family and friends.  

These are just a couple suggestions. I’ll bet there’s others that might work to pave your personal road to success. 

Everyone has a minute or two here or five minutes there. We often waste this on unproductive pastimes like our smartphone. These moments can add up to huge amounts  of Torah learning. Just 5 minutes a day adds up to 26  hours a year! Imagine what  you can accomplish in that time!  

If having even a small book with you is difficult, remember that our spare moments can also be filled with prayer. Train yourself to say Psalm 100 whenever you have the literally one minute that it takes to recite it. Rabbi Arush says that a quiet mouth is like a mill running with no flour to grind – a total waste. With just a little focus, we can easily see miracles and wonders  – just by saying Psalms throughout the day, with time that would have otherwise been wasted! 

By turning our time into Torah treasure, we’ll attain immense merit and invoke  phenomenal  blessings  both in this world and the next.